I hate crowds--is a cruise right for me?

[HopeO]

I have booked a cruise on the Grand P for March of next year. I expect it to be booked to capacity since it is spring break for alot of kids. My concern is --how long does one wait to disembark for the shore excursions. I have this picture in my head like a herd of cattle leaving the ship once docked. Also, what is the easiest way to diasembark once in Galveston. Is it better to just wait a while or do they kick you off the ship at a certain time.Also, if you book an independant excursion, how much time should be allowed to get back on the boat. Can you come back at any time? Thanks

[lhall85917]

Once the ship is docked and they allow you to disembark, you can leave at your leisure. Of course, everyone wants off the second you get there, so your best bet is to wait an hour or so to let the crowds clear then you should be able to walk right off! You can come and go from the ship as you please while the ship is docked. I'm a bit of a nervous Nellie, so my rule of thumb is to be back on board an hour before the ship wants you back. Most of the time they ask you to be onboard 30 minutes before departure. I would hate to be left waving goodbye, so I like to be back onboard watching the others rush back from my balcony well before we have to leave!!

There are certainly ways to avoid crowds, be sure to check the boards here and ask questions - if you know what to avoid you can save yourself some stress!!

Enjoy your trip!

[Cotton]

:D I don't like crowded areas, so I always go to Lido Deck and have another cuppa coffee or two. I look down off the side at all the throngs of folks getting off at the ports, and just smile and enjoy my coffee. I get off when I see the crowd thinning out.

[catmand]

Hope you don't mind, playing Devils Advocate for just a minute. You said so yourself, you expect the ship to be fully booked so you know you will be floating around with about 5,000 people. As others have said, there are ways to avoid the crowds but there are also going to be times when they just can't be avoided so be ready for that. You have gotten good responses on how to avoid them on port stops etc. The main idea here is do not wait until the last hour, minute, or day for anything. examples:

I always suggest people go to the main desk and ask for a copy of your bill THE SECOND TO LAST DAY. It is a pretty good idea to check the charges and they are confusing enough to decipher as it is. The last day of the cruise there will be a line at the desk all day for just that. Also, if you want to meet with the future cruise desk person, make an appointment and also don't wait until the last couple of days.

Also, if you do the buffet for breakfast, try to get there shortly after it opens, hope you are an early riser, if not go about 30 minutes before the shut down the main breakfast. IF you go during the peak times 8:30-9:30 you will have half the ship up

there. You may want to eat in the dining rooms for breakfast and lunch.

If you like to hang out at the pool, you may not want to go to the main pool, usually the aft is much less crowded. The last shows are generally less crowded than the early ones.

We have sailed two of the grand class Princess ships and again, at times they just can't be avoided but over all you can usually find times and places that can agree with the "no crowd" people like you (and us).

Oh yes, they don't kick you off at disembarkation but you will get a form to fill out and you list what time you are meeting your ride, bus, cab, plane, train, whatever and you will get an assigned color which they will call out for your time ti leave the ship. Our last cruise when our color was called we just hung outside for about 30 minutes and then got off the ship, much easier to find our bags and very few people. I think you can carry your own stuff and leave first thing in the am, that may work for you?

[trish1c]

I'm not big on crowds either but love cruising. I have only felt like 1 of a heard of cattle on a few brief occassions while cruising:

 

1. Check in / embarkation. To avoid this do not get to the pier early. Everybody wants to be the 1st one on board. If you can board starting at noon; shoot for 1 ish. Also have your forms filled out & your credit card out. It will make the experience smoother if you are prepared.

 

2. Early excursions. The solution, is don't book one. Avoid trying to be the 1st one off the ship. Wait an hour & you'll be able to stroll off at your lesiure.

 

3. Sea days -- if you must sit by the pool you are going to be out of luck. I love to sit by the pool & try to put up with the throngs. After an hour or so, I usually head off to greener pastures, on some sunny deck as far from the pool as possible. Except for your own balcony or staying inside, nothing will get you the solitude you crave.

 

4. Disembarkation. Bring every ounce of patience you have; don't worry after a cruise of being pampered, you'll have plenty. Grab some breakfast, read a magazine & enjoy a lesuirely meal. Being something close to the last people off the ship is the best way to avoid the masses as much as possible.

 

Both embarkation & disembarkation are like the airport; you just can't get away from everybody else. Other than the above situations, you will amazed at how huge the ships are & you shouldn't feel crowded at all. There are people, but it's not soffocating. I have always been able to find lots of quiet nooks. You will too.

 

Enjoy.

[Happy ks]

If you truly want to avoid crowds while onboard the ship, get up early. The decks are almost empty at sunrise, it's lovely to have the ship to yourself. Early morning, the dining room seats you right away, no waiting and you are served. We avoid the buffet at all times, it's almost always crowded in there. We avoid the pool area, usually you can find a spot all the way aft that has a hot tub and no crowds. If you have traditional seating at dinner, wait until 5 minutes or so after the doors have opened to arrive. While you don't want to be late (that is rude), the first 5 - 10 minutes are a little chaotic with everyone being seated. The crowds can be enormous waiting for the doors to open and you can be seated probably the same time as you would have if you were out there in the crowd.

 

We have found that unless we have a shore excursion planned, we sometimes stay onboard a ship on port days. Or, get off the ship an hour or so after it docks, walk around a while, then re-board. On the morning of disembarkation, we get up early, go to breakfast, then pack our last minute stuff after breakfast. The longer you wait, the more people will be out and many of them bring their luggage to breakfast.

 

This is also the reason we love the late dining assignment. Around 4 - 5 o'clock, the decks seem to empty out because so many people are getting ready for dinner. We enjoy some extra time on deck, perhaps take a bit of a nap and then get ready at our leisure. After the late seating, you still have time to party if you want to, we find it is a perfect time to go back up on deck for a stroll. Again, hardly anyone is out there and it is beautiful!

 

Take along a book for those times when you cannot possibly avoid the crowds.

 

Finally, take the stairs instead of the elevator.

[Andee]

Avoiding crowds is one of the reason we choose smaller ships. Our favorite line is Oceania; the ships hold 684 passengers, so there's never a crowd.

[MamaParrotHead]

...where your cabin is and where you want to be. for instance, we booked an OV GTY on the Valor 5/22. ended up in cabin 2412, which was PERFECT. kind of midship, a bit closer to the aft. about 6 cabins and a small hallway to the aft elevators. our dining room was in the aft, as was the aft pool and bar, and the rear entrance to Rosie's (the buffet). unless we wanted to head to the mid-ship/Promenade deck towards the bars, theater or shops in the evening, everything I wanted was just a few short steps away. I noticed most people were at the main pool, and the front of the ship was busier. but I can also tell you, that although there were 2899 other people onboard, I commented a FEW times that I just couldn't believe it, it didn't seem like it at ALL. I HATE lines. I can't stand them, they make me miserable (and therefore anyone who's with me, having to listen to me complain, miserable). and I can honestly tell you it was pretty annoying waiting to board the ship (though we got there early, and I'm told that Princess has a different way to deal with boarding the ship) and debarkation was a nightmare (though supposedly there were quite a few Customs hassles in Miami and they were running short on agents) BUT we made it through just fine.

 

in a nutshell, from one person to another who can't stand crowds, I still had an absolutely wonderful time and am counting the DAYS til I can cruise again. hope that helps! ;)

[HopeO]

Thank you sooo much for all your suggestions.I am going to print out all your ideas.

[montgomeryfamily]

We were on the Grand last year in late November. We checked in at the pier at 2:00. There were NO lines and we walked straight through with no waiting to get on the ship. When we disembarked, we had stayed on until the last color was called, waited until those folks left, and then leisurely strolled off. Our bags were sitting in the practically empty terminal. Even then, there was a lot of people waiting to catch their parking lot shuttle, but not as many as if we had not waited and gone when our color was called. (Unless you have an early flight, colors are assigned by deck).

[celbercrz333]

one idea you may or may not chose--room service. we were on celebrity zenith in bermuda. we had an early tee time. my husband asked me what we should do about breakfast because we had to be ready early to head to the golf course. i suggested room service because the buffet and dining room weren't open yet. on zenith all we had to do was turn our tv on the night before and fill out a screen order and delivery time. it all came promptly. everything worked just fine. if one morning you wish for a quiet breakfast in your room, go for it! just remember you won't have the space on the desk, table,etc that you'd have in the dining rooms. it kinda felt like a picnic.